Iain Murray wins 2018 Sir Walter Bodmer Award for Volunteering

Dr. Iain Murray of the British Science Association’s (BSA) Tayside and Fife Branch has won the Sir Walter Bodmer Award for Volunteering. The Award is presented annually to volunteers who have gone the extra mile and made outstanding contributions to the BSA’s vision.

Iain received the Award in recognition of the invaluable contribution he’s made to the branch during over 20 years of service. Iain started his relationship with the BSA while he was still at school, attending lectures organised by the branch. Since then, Iain was awarded Isambard Kingdom Brunel Award Lecture, attending the British Science Festival in Loughborough in 1994 to deliver his talk. He was Chair of the branch from 1997 to 2011 and has been Treasurer since 2008, continuing in the role to this day. During his period as Chair, Iain developed the volunteer committee to include a broad group of people from a variety of backgrounds, all sharing his enthusiasm for engaging the public with science and technology, and his skill as Treasurer has ensured that the branch has the resources required to deliver its wide range of activities.

Dr Iain Murray, 2018 Walter Bodmer Award recipient

On receiving the Award, Iain said: "I'm delighted to have won. It's a total surprise as the committee didn’t tell me they’d nominated me. It’s very kind of them! I really enjoy being able to communicate science to members of the public. Working with the folks on the committee, who are so lovely and helpful, is so rewarding.”

Iain balances volunteering at the branch with his job as lecturer of computing at the University of Dundee, and as a trustee or the Barnes Wallis Foundation.

The Sir Walter Bodmer Award is named in honour of the geneticist and former President of the BSA, who was instrumental in highlighting the importance of programmes that enhance the public understanding of science during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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